Women's Volleyball | 10/16/2026 1:46:00 PM

Match #19: Daemen Wildcats vs. St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans | Saturday, Oct. 17 | 11 AM | Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Live Stream & Stats: FloCollege (subscription required) | Live Stats
Daemen Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Record: 10-8 overall, 2-2 ECC
STAC Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Record: 7-9 overall, 2-2 ECC

Match #20: Daemen Wildcats vs. Mercy Mavericks | Sunday, Oct. 18 | 11 AM | Amherst, N.Y. | Lumsden Gymnasium
Live Stream & Stats: FloCollege (subscription required) | Live Stats
Mercy Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats | Record: 16-1 overall, 5-0 ECC

BIG WEEKEND
The Daemen University women's volleyball team returns to Lumsden Gymnasium for a big weekend against East Coast Conference foes St. Thomas Aquinas and Mercy. The Wildcats will face STAC on Saturday, Oct. 17 in an 11 AM match for the ECC Women's Volleyball Game of the Week as the two teams tied for third place in the league. Sunday's matchup will feature the top team in the conference and only undefeated team, Mercy, at 11 AM. The Wildcats faced the Spartans and Mavericks two weeks ago on the road, with Daemen sweeping STAC 3-0 but falling 2-3 to Mercy.

LAST WEEK
The Wildcats went 1-1 in their week against WNY rivals Roberts Wesleyan and D'Youville. The Wildcats earned a 3-0 victory over the Redhawks on Wednesday, finishing with a .274 hitting percentage and 39 kills on the night while holding Roberts to just 21 kills while hitting .022. Senior middle blocker Amelia Gonzalez (Juana Diaz, P.R.) posted a team-high 10 kills with no errors on 14 attempts for a career-high .714 hitting percentage, serving up a pair of aces for a team-high 12 points in the win. Junior outside hitter Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) finished with a team-high 11 digs, adding five kills and one block assist. Freshman outside hitter Audrey Johnson (Mequon, Wisc.) totaled seven kills on 16 attempts and added five digs. Sophomore middle blocker Jolie Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) finished with three kills, one solo block and one block assist. Freshman setter Peyton Lowes (Northville, Mich.) paced the Cats with 14 assists, notching her second double-double with 10 digs and added an ace.

Daemen trekked across town on Sunday to play at D'Youville and were upset 0-3 by their rival Saints. The Wildcats were held to 26 kills with just a .050 hitting percentage, while the Saints totaled 39 kills. Johnson was the lone Wildcat to tally double-digit points, finishing with 10 kills on 26 attempts. Junior Payton Gaylor (Bowmanville, Ont.) posted a team and season-high six block assists on the day, adding three kills and two digs. Sophomore outside hitter Mina Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) finished with six kills and just one error on 13 attempts to hit .385 in the match. Junior libero Jarielys Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) totaled 11 digs, three assists and one ace. Senior setter Maddie Schamaun (Rockville, Md.) finished with 12 assists, three digs and one ace, while Lowes totaled 11 assists, one ace and two digs. Gonzalez finished with four blocks. 

CONFERENCE PLAY
Daemen was selected third in the 2026 ECC Preseason Poll, behind only Mercy (49 points, 7 first-place votes) and Molloy (38 points). The Wildcats garnered 37 points in the pregame poll after finishing third in the conference last season. Daemen has been dominant in conference play since 2021, tallying a 51-7 record in ECC action over the past five seasons, including three consecutive years of undefeated records (2021-23). In head coach Kaysie Shebeneck's first season at the helm in 2025, the Wildcats went 8-4 in ECC matches, only dropping conference games against Mercy and Molloy who placed first and second in the ECC a year ago. 

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will travel downstate to play at Molloy on Saturday, Oct. 24 (12 PM) and at Queens on Sunday, Oct. 25 (12 PM). 
 

---

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
St. Thomas Aquinas comes into the weekend with a 7-9 overall record and a 2-2 record in ECC action, dropping their conference opener (0-3) to the Wildcats on Oct. 3 but picking up a pair of wins over D'Youville (3-2) and Queens (3-1) before falling last Sunday to Mercy (0-3). STAC is tied with Daemen and Molloy at third in the league with a 2-2 conference record. The Spartans average 10.48 kills per set and are led offensively by Adriana Zarceno with 3.51 kills/set (second in the ECC). Amelie Gasche ranks second on the team and seventh in the league with 2.98 kills/set and a team-high .223 hitting percentage. Boglarka Kiss leads the ECC in digs with 4.39/set. The Wildcats are 8-0 all-time against STAC.

---

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
The reigning 2025 ECC Champions, Mercy comes into this weekend's action with an impressive 16-1 record and a 5-0 record in conference play. All but three of their matches have been 3-0 sweeps for the Mavs: a 3-2 non-conference win over Monroe, a 0-3 loss to Bentley and a 3-2 win over Daemen. The Wildcats are the only ECC team to take a set from Mercy this season. The Mavs sit atop the league in 12 out of 13 categories and are averaging 14.0 kills per set while holding their opponents to an average of 7.8 kills per set. ECC Preseason Player of the Year Grace Dilena leads the Mavericks with 150 kills -- league high 4.09 kills/set -- while hitting .394 on the season (2nd in the ECC). Mercy also looks to two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week Stasa Stamenkovic who totals 173 kills (3.2/set) and averages 2.72 digs/set. Six time ECC setter of the week Adriana Rivera Rodriguez averages 10.57 assists/set. Janneliz Rodriguez Fuentez ranks second in the ECC -- behind only Daemen's Jolie Faw -- with 0.90 blocks/set. The Wildcats own a 19-7 all-time record over the Mavericks but have lost the last four meetings.